Friday January 8

Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Bands: One Step Beyond
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: American Museum of Natural History
Food: Hummus Place
Drink: Jake’s Dilemmal
Miscellaneous: Alice’s Tea Cup

This monthly series thrown by The Fader features some amazing acts and this one will have DJ sets by Animal Collective, Fischerspooner, and Activaire. Cheap yet not too heavy, Hummus Place serves up surprisingly great hummus in the uptown version of their original downtown location. More a game room for adults than a sports bar, Jake’s Dilemmal offers more than 50 beers to choose from while you can play pool, video games, or foosball. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Alice’s Tea Cup is as much for adults as it is for kids. Get one of a vast assortment of teas flown in from around the world here or a gorgeously designed slice of cake.

Friday January 8

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Bands: Here Comes Trouble
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: 92Y Tribeca
Food: Pakistan Tea House
Drink: Mocca Lounge
Miscellaneous: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Trouble Worldwide and Barbès Records present six world music acts that are kinda awesome at Here Comes Trouble which features Bad reputation: Pierre de Gaillande Sings Brassens, Rana Santacruz, Pistolera, Chicha Libre, The Cuban Cowboys, and Slavic Soul Party! Nearby, Pakistan Tea House is a buffet style Indian restaurant where you can choose between chicken, meat, fish and vegetables. It’s affordable and very good. For drinks, check out Mocca Lounge. With a funky interior and a menu of Italian inspired fare, it’s also a bar with a large list of coffees with or without alcohol, beers, and frozen shots. Smack dab in the heart of Chinatown, the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory makes gourmet ice cream flavors like Black Sesame, Ginger, Durian, and more exotic flavors like Taro and Wasabi. Don’t worry, they have the go-to’s like Vanilla, fruits, and chocolate flavors too.

Saturday January 9

Location: Flatiron, NYC
Band: GZA Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Blender Theater
Food: Kelley & Ping Gramercy
Drink: Rodeo Bar
Miscellaneous: City Bakery

Wu Tang’s resident genius, the GZA has truly earned his keep being a major part of the groups sound but on his last album Pro Tools he dips his hands into all sorts of indie rock producing an underrated hit, so catch him live and be prepared to be surprised at what you hear. For dinner, Kelley & Ping’s Gramercy location offers a taste of the food stalls from all over Asia including noodles, curries, and of course street food like pad Thai. The food is delish! Though honky tonk doesn’t spell R-O-C-K, the Rodeo Bar offers both. With the bar itself being an old horse trailer and the bartender offering up 10 kinds of margarita’s, this place is white trash awesome! For some of the best bakery goods and hot chocolate in the city, stop at City Bakery and indulge in delectable morsels. Expect to pay for every delicious cent of em’ cause they ain’t cheap, but they’re worth it!

Saturday January 9

Location: Union Square, NYC
Bands: Mondo Mundo Festival Get Tickets Here
Show time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Hiro Ballroom
Food: Chat ‘N’ Chew
Drink: Pete’s Tavern
Miscellaneous: Whole Foods

One of international music’s leading booking agencies, Mondo Mundo presents its third annual Mondo Mundo Festival featuring the psychedelic afro-Latin funk grooves of Ocote Soul Sounds, Toshi Reagon’s urban folk blues, West African electronica outfit Burkina Electric, and Lebanese-born multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Abaji. For food with southern flair in Union Square, Chat ‘N’ Chew makes some kickass fried chicken, pork-chops, and meatloaf. In the running for oldest bar in NYC, Pete’s Tavern has been around since 1864 and was made famous by author O. Henry who wrote “Gift of the Magi,” in one of its booths. One good thing about the Union Square location of Whole Foods is that it’s not only a reprieve from this tourist heavy area, but with it’s huge windows, you can sit, get healthy organic food and drink, and watch the insanity like it’s a movie.

Sunday January 10

Location: East Village, NYC
Bands: globalFEST 2010 Get Tickets Here
Show time: 7 PM
Venue: Webster Hall
Food: Momofuku
Drink: The Village Pourhouse
Miscellaneous: Sundaes and Cones

Get a chance to see some of world music’s newest and hottest performers ready to be heard in the USA on one stage at globalFEST 2010. This year’s performers include Alif Naaba (Burkina Faso), Cara Dillon (Ireland), Caravan Palace (France), Cedric Watson (USA), Federico Aubele (Argentina/USA), La Cumbiamba eNeYé (Colombia/USA), La Excelencia (USA), Meta and the Cornerstones (Senegal/USA), Namgar (Russia), Nguyen Le (Vietnam/Japan/India/France), Nightlosers (Romania), and Souad Massi (Algeria/France). If you like ramen noodles and pork, then Momofuku is your spot for food. The Berkshire pork is the best I’ve had and it’s the only place I’ll eat pork period, which should tell you just how good Momofuku really is! The Village Pourhouse may look like a neighborhood bar to watch sports but actually has three more rooms, where you can order food or find a quiet place to smooch! For dessert a little left of the dial, Sundaes and Cones offers eclectic flavors like wasabi and corn and many more flavors that are familiar.